United close on Â£12m Saha

Manchester United will have to pay around £12million to convince Fulham to sell Louis Saha.

Sir Alex Ferguson has made the French striker his top target and is close to getting him after a week of bitter wrangling.

Fulham have been desperately trying to hold on to their leading goalscorer and are thought to have turned down a bid of nearly £10m from United .

They have accused the champions of using underhand tactics to unsettle Saha and said they would not be bullied into selling. But if United are guilty of leaking stories and approaching the player through intermediaries, it is beginning to work.

Saha has made it clear he wants to move to Old Trafford and his outbursts this week have had a damaging effect on Chris Coleman's team and have changed the manager's thinking.

The striker said earlier this week he was "disgusted and dejected" that Fulham were blocking his once-in-a-lifetime chance to join United.

Saha played poorly in the 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough in midweek and revealed today he had not spoken to his manager since that match.

The striker said: "Coleman told me he did not like what I said. We've not talked to each other since Wednesday.

"Against Middlesbrough I performed one of the worst matches of my career, maybe this was no accident

"I will not do anything stupid out of respect for my teammates, who I really like, but I will do everything possible to leave. An offer like the

Manchester one, even Coleman would not turn it down."

Saha's father, Vincent, has said his son will not give up on the transfer although the player seems reluctant to put in a transfer request.

Coleman had hoped to hold on to Saha until the end of this month's transfer window and was confident of getting him re-focussed then. But the outbursts and stories show no signs of abating and Coleman has to decide how long he can allow it to continue.

There are some at the club who believe they should sell soon and use the money to sign a replacement this month.

Chairman Mohamed Fayed has been upset by Saha's comments and Coleman will check on how long his patience will last. But both men are moving towards the conclusion that if United make a high enough offer they should put an end to the episode by selling.